What to watch in the leading soccer leagues in Europe this weekend

The pressure on Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will ratchet up if the team loses at Burnley on Sunday for a third straight defeat in the Premier League.

United has lost to Brighton and Tottenham in its past two games – conceding three goals each time – to put Mourinho on the defensive and in an irritable mood.

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Burnley can be a tough place to visit, but Sean Dyche’s side is having its own problems this season as its small squad juggled Premier League and Europa League competition. Burnley, which went out of the Europa League at the playoff stage on Thursday night after a 1-1 second-leg draw against Olympiakos, is looking to end a run of back-to-back losses in the Premier League.

Four teams have a 100-per-cent record after three games and two of them meet this weekend, with Watford hosting Tottenham. Liverpool travels to Leicester for the early kickoff on Saturday and Chelsea hosts Bournemouth later that day.

Defending champion Manchester City hosts Newcastle in Saturday’s late game after picking up seven points from a possible nine.

ITALY

Roma’s visit to AC Milan on Friday is being labeled Serie A’s first “American derby” since both Roma and Milan are under U.S. ownership now.

While Roma has been in American hands since 2011, when a group of four Boston executives took over control of the capital’s club from the Sensi family, Milan’s transformation is much more recent.

U.S.-based hedge fund Elliott Management took over control of Milan last month after the club’s former Chinese owner, Li Yonghong, missed a deadline to repay part of a loan.

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Both sides are coming off disappointing results. In its only match so far, Milan squandered a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss at Napoli while Roma had to come back from two goals down to draw with Atalanta 3-3 on Monday.

Also this weekend, Cristiano Ronaldo seeks his first Italian league goal in his third appearance when Juventus visits Parma. Ronaldo didn’t score until his fourth Spanish league appearance with Real Madrid last season – although he did score in other competitions during that span.

Napoli, which is perfect like Juventus, visits Sampdoria – the Genoa club which is playing its first home match since a bridge collapse in the port city killed 43 people.

SPAIN

Surprising newcomer Huesca faces its toughest test yet when it visits defending champion Barcelona in the third round of the Spanish league.

After making its first-division debut with a 2-1 win at Eibar, the small club from northeastern Spain followed up with a 2-2 draw at Athletic Bilbao to stay near the top of the standings early on. Another good result Sunday at Camp Nou would be a resounding statement for the club which a decade ago hadn’t even made it to Spain’s second division.

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Barcelona and Real Madrid are the only teams with a perfect start after two rounds. Real Madrid will go for three in a row against Leganes in a Madrid derby on Saturday.

The Valencia derby between Levante and Valencia – still winless despite high hopes after a great season a year ago – takes place Sunday at Levante’s stadium, and a few hours later Real Betis will host Sevilla in the Seville derby.

Saturday’s game between promoted Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Bilbao was postponed because of safety concerns at the stadium used by Rayo in Madrid.

FRANCE

Defending champion Paris Saint-Germain travels south to play promoted Nimes on Saturday, 25 years after they last met in Ligue 1.

PSG is likely to be tested both by an ambitious Nimes, which has won two of its opening three matches and by a hostile crowd. PSG sometimes struggles when playing away at teams in the south, such as Nice and Montpelier, because fans there traditionally reserve a vitriolic welcome for PSG’s players.

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PSG is level on nine points and goal difference with Dijon, a small club in eastern France only formed 20 years ago. Dijon will look to continue it remarkable start with a home win against lowly Caen on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Monaco hosts Marseille on Sunday night in an important match for both teams – who have picked up just four points each so far. They met in the fourth round of matches last season, too, with Monaco crushing Marseille 6-1 at home.

Also, striker Mario Balotelli returns to add much-needed firepower to Nice’s attack away to Lyon on Friday. Coach Patrick Vieira’s Nice side has only picked up one point, with Balotelli suspended for the first three matches.

GERMANY

Goals are all but guaranteed when Borussia Dortmund gets the Bundesliga’s second round of games underway at Hannover.

Not one of the 52 previous meetings between the sides ended 0-0. Dortmund, which opened its league campaign with four goals against Leipzig, also boosted its attack with the addition of former Barcelona striker Paco Alcacer, who could make his debut on Friday.

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